Recognizing Unity

Reading

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17v20-23

Thought

The Great Unity of Life burst all of time and ever-expanding space into what-now-is. And that same Unity and Love... for whatever reason, longs for us to know and experience the something it does. Its core, its makeup, its being.

Jesus uses the word glory, or in Greek: δόξα (dosa) to express what He's given, so that we can know Him (know Unity.)

So what was Jesus implying when he said, "I have given them the glory that you gave me..." And why? What's the benefit, the goal, or the purpose of this glory He's referencing?

While glory may imply a handful of thoughts, two of the more common are "view" and "magnificence." Jesus longed for us to receive His (and at the same time, His Father's) "view, understanding, or grasp of reality." Which begs the question, what is "God's view"? An idea that brings us to our second question, "What's the benefit, the goal, or the purpose of this?"

Look at words Jesus used next, " that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity."

Unity.

Cooperation.

Love.

This is what God's "magnificence," or "glory," is like.

And I believe this is the point of the glory Jesus was longing for us to live inside of.

Jesus longed for us to know and experience Unity, Cooperation, and Love. The very essence of God, or the Energy that pulses through God. All we can do is use words to try and picture, or explain what God is like. This is why we must move onto our Rhythm of Practicing peace, because without practice and experience (whether feelings are engaged or not is not the question) we will remain on the sidelines of the game. We must run onto the field, receiving the invitation to recognize the Unity, Cooperation, and Love in each moment whether in wonder or suffering. Both in God.

Rhythm of Practicing Peace

Go on a walk. But before you begin, while standing at the start, open yourself up to the dialog God has already began with You today as you read the prayer below. Then, start walking, with each step counting from one to twelve. When you reach twelve, look around and notice the cadence of all things. How they fit into a rhythm, notice too the things that do not feel rhythmic. See that only when there is a lack of unity, cooperation, or love does the rhythm break. Continue your walk, as you count from one to twelve over and over as a practice of aligning your mind (in this case using numbers, a language we all see pattern in) with the rhythm of God all around you.

Prayer for start of walk

Father, thank you for sending the Son.

Jesus, thank you for sending the Spirit.

Spirit, thank you for glorifying the Father.

And into You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... you call me to know You.

I say yes to You today. Yes to Unity, yes to Cooperation, yes to Love.

I receive Your glory in the easy moments, and choose Your glory in the difficult ones.